Author
Topic: MPR - Top Score (Video Game Music Podcast)

Minnesota Public Radio's Classical station has created a new podcast that takes notice of some of the fantastic work being done in video game scores by the myriad of composers working in the field today. Hosted by Emily Reese, the program is entitled Top Score. According to MPR, it "explores the inspiration, process and meaning behind the often beautiful and sometimes haunting music found in video games. Music has had the power to inflect different emotions in listeners for centuries, and video game music is no different."

What's great about the show is that it's not just a "mixtape" style podcast, where they play various tracks from a game's soundtrack. Reese actually brings the composers in the booth, and asks them thoughtful questions about both their creative process and how they hope their music interacts with the player's experience as well as playing selections from the game's soundtrack. As a sometime listener of Minnesota Public Radio Classical, it's great to see game composers being treated with the same respect and level of seriousness that the station affords to artists working in more traditional realms of classical and film music.

If you care about game music at all, it's well worth your time. The podcast is available for subscription on iTunes, and you can also listen to mp3s and or a stream of individual episodes on the link below.

Top Score homepage

Listening through the Bioshock interview and love it! This is exactly what I wanted in a podcast in regards to game music, to hear the composer talk about their techniques and styles in his soundtrack while hearing his thoughts on the game. Perhaps you might find this approach interesting as much as I do....